Gtcotr/ws050918
For
the purposes of our lesson tonight allow me to define the word leadership.
I
believe it was John Maxwell who said, “Leadership is
influence.” Leadership is measured by the influence one has on others.
Influence not impact. People may have positive or negative impact on you
without influencing the way you think or act. Just because Hitler had an impact
on the whole world did not mean he was their leader.
However,
When one person goes out of their way to follow another
person, that’s influence and that’s leadership. Leaders influence their
followers to think, feel, talk and to act a certain way.
·
There are legitimate leaders and illegitimate leaders.
·
There are recognized leaders and unrecognized leaders.
A
policeman may turn on his lights and get out of his car and ask you to run a
red light. However, the person sitting beside you in the next car who
impatiently runs a red light should not become your leader.
It
is always a good idea to ask yourself, “Who am I following?” If you find
yourself under the influence of an illegitimate leader, you may be following
the wrong person. As well, it’s a good idea to look around you to see who is
following you. If you are influencing people to go against their parent’s
counsel or to be discontent with their marriage or go against their boss’s
decisions or the laws of our land, you may be doing more harm with your
unbridled opinions than you had realized.
Leadership
should be more than a mere popularity contest. Life is
not a competition. Influencing others is a tremendous responsibility. Legitimate
leadership positions have been clearly identified by the Word of God and the
people who occupy these positions deserve our attention, our respect and,
except in rare cases, they also deserve our support.
Not everyone who influences us has our best interests at heart.
This
is what happened to one third of the heavenly host of angels when Lucifer
influenced them, and they began to follow him instead of God. Lucifer saw his
tactics worked on angels, so he tried it on man. Eve listened to Lucifer’s
assertions and was influenced by his suggestions. She began to see things
differently, she felt discontent and a dissatisfaction arose within her mind
that caused her to change her primary loyalties and then she acted. Eve was
deceived by the voice of an illegitimate leader and was influenced to sin. We
don’t want to be that kind of influencer.
When
someone is influenced by a friend to discount the voice or to disregard the
counsel of their God-ordained leaders, even when that friend is just trying to
be kind and supportive, it can lead to destruction. You don’t have to be the
devil to be divisive. Exerting influence in opposition to the voice of the
legitimate leader is not a good idea.
Some
of the most difficult times in God’s life, in the life of a teacher, a parent a
boss or anyone else, is when those who should be following think they should be
leading. Don’t be easily influenced by those who have little or no investment
in your future or those who have no investment in your past. And, don’t assume
the leadership when you aren’t committed to stay and willing to pay. Opinions
are free … but … leadership costs.
We
can easily see that not every leader is a good leader. As well, people choose
their own leaders. The words “boss” or “parent” or “General” does not always
denote leader. A leader is only your leader when you
follow them. Someone can occupy a position without commanding a
following. They may impact your life, but they don’t influence the way you
feel, think, speak or act. As well, you can only lead those who are willing to
follow.
Every
person has the opportunity and the ability to influence others. In fact, We are all called by God to lead others to Christ.
Some of you will be parents, bosses, teachers, supervisors or judges and be
given recognized positions of authority from which you will be expected to
lead. However, every one of us have the God-given ability and a daily
opportunity to influence others to think, feel or do something we believe is
best. Because of this truth, Every one of you are
leaders. Remember, leadership is influence.
We
cannot imagine that only the people at the top are leaders. Often the most critical leaders are in the middle of the pack.
It’s not the generals who fight the battle and win the wars, it’s the soldiers
who are under the leadership of field commanders and battle-hardened sergeants.
The success of our nation is not about what happens in the White House or the
capital house, it all depends on what happens in your house. The success of
every organization hinges on its ability to attract and reproduce secondary leadership.
Leadership is the key to success … Even if your name is
Jesus.
When
we look at leaders in the Bible we can easily see that Moses was one of the
most well-known. Moses was used by God to lead the people out of Egypt and
deliver them from Pharaoh. Although he was the most educated, experienced and
certainly the most qualified man in the world for the job he was given, he
nonetheless doubted his leadership abilities. Let’s look in the Bible at God’s
conversation with Moses at the burning bush in:
Exodus 3 NLT
9 Look! The cry of the people
of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them.
10 Now go, for I am sending
you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
11 ¶ But Moses protested to
God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel
out of Egypt?”
12 God answered, “I will be
with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you
have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very
mountain.”
13 But Moses protested, “If I
go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent
me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell
them?”
14 God replied to Moses, “I
AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.”
Exodus 4
1 ¶ But Moses protested
again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The
LORD never appeared to you’?”
5 “Perform this sign,” the LORD told him. “Then
they will believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors — the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob — really has
appeared to you.”
10 ¶ But Moses pleaded with
the LORD, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not
now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get
tangled.”
11 Then the LORD asked Moses, “Who makes a
person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do
not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD?
12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and
I will instruct you in what to say.”
13 But Moses again pleaded,
“Lord, please! Send anyone else.”
14 Then the LORD became angry
with Moses.
“All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he
speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted
to see you.
15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth.
I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what
to do.
31 Then the people of Israel
were convinced that the LORD had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the
LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and
worshiped.
Exodus
5
20 As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted
Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them.
21 The foremen said to them,
“May the LORD judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his
officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!”
22 Then Moses went back to
the LORD and protested, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own
people, Lord? Why did you send me?
23 Ever since I came to
Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you
have done nothing to rescue them!”
Exodus
6
5 You can be sure that I have heard the groans
of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well
aware of my covenant with them.
6 “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I
am the LORD. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your
slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of
judgment.
7 I will claim you as my own people, and I will
be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God who has freed you
from your oppression in Egypt.
8 I will bring you into the
land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as
your very own possession. I am the LORD!’ ”
9 So Moses told the people of
Israel what the LORD had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had
become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.
Those
people who had influence among the children of Israel were their true leaders,
not Moses. Moses spent the rest of his life, the next 40 years, trying to get
those influencers to follow him so the people could get what God promised. But,
they never did. Fortunately we can all see the end of the story and because
everything turned out well we can’t imagine why the people refused to trust
God’s leadership and support Moses all along the way. We know it ended well
however they were in the middle of the situation … they could not see the end.
And
that’s the same way it is today with so many of us. Whether we are leaders or
followers we can’t see the end of our lives and some situations make us afraid.
We hear the voices of doubt and other people who tell us not to trust our
parents or our legitimate God-given leaders. We want to take matters in our own
hands and just like Eve, do what we feel is best for us. That can be a recipe
for disaster.
Great leaders look beyond:
·
Self
·
The Situation
·
Criticism
·
Unknown
…
and they put their trust in God and in the people He has empowered to lead in
this moment.
Leaders
aren’t always popular, and they aren’t even always right.
When I was about 15 years old my dad told me, “Son, I
may not always be right, but I am always your dad, now do what I say.” He expected, and he deserved my support and in turn, it was
my duty to insure the other workers saw me supporting my dad, after all, he was
the boss and he was the one who was paying me. It was my responsibility to make
it easier, not harder for him.
It
is always easy to influence, especially when you aren’t the one paying for it.
But it is not always easy to lead.
Be
the leader God made you and begin influencing others to do what’s right and not
what’s popular, what’s easy or what they think is best for them in the moment.
Remember: Principles before Problems.
Use
your influence and teach your children to use their influence for God.
